Gideon's Gift, by Karen Kingsbury, has got to be one of the best Christmas fiction novels I've ever read. You've just got to read it! Of course, the Biblical Christmas story is the best news we could ever get. Gideon's Gift is about a modern-day gift, a story that reminds us powerfully that God still loves us and that love is still stronger than evil, hate, or death. This short novel reminds us that "Christmas miracles happen when we believe." The trusting faith of a child can soften the heart of the wounded and can triumph over fear and doubt. It has warmed my heart and has reminded me to reach out in kindness to the people around me, no matter how lovable they are. This book will add joy to your Christmas, especially if you've been hurting and heartbroken.
This book is available on Audible, Bookshare, and from just about any bookstore. Check it out, and please let me know what you think. Merry Christmas, my friend.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
This Month's Book Club Selection
Hi, everyone. Wow! We had a great meeting of the Christian fiction book club last Friday night. Several new friends came by, and we talked about Crime And Clutter, by Cyndy Salzmann. Our next meeting will be held on Friday, January 4, at 6 P.M. Pacific, 9 P.M. Eastern time. The book we're going to read is called The Seat Beside Me, by Nancy Moser. This is a gripping page-turner that takes us on the ride of a lifetime aboard
a plane where people are called to act with bravery in the split second decisions that change the course of their lives forever. Nancy Moser tells the
gripping story of five passengers and their seatmates who get casually acquainted while their flight is delayed. After the flight takes off, they plunge headlong into an icy river in a sudden plane crash. The moments that follow are more intense than any they have ever lived, changing the way the passengers see God and the meaning of life itself. This book reveals the eternal impact a brief interaction can have and the drastic measures it takes for some to reexamine their souls.
Lori Castner scanned this book and recommended it to me a couple of months ago. You can find the book on Bookshare or buy it from Amazon.
Happy reading, and I'll see you on January 4th.
Monica Willyard
a plane where people are called to act with bravery in the split second decisions that change the course of their lives forever. Nancy Moser tells the
gripping story of five passengers and their seatmates who get casually acquainted while their flight is delayed. After the flight takes off, they plunge headlong into an icy river in a sudden plane crash. The moments that follow are more intense than any they have ever lived, changing the way the passengers see God and the meaning of life itself. This book reveals the eternal impact a brief interaction can have and the drastic measures it takes for some to reexamine their souls.
Lori Castner scanned this book and recommended it to me a couple of months ago. You can find the book on Bookshare or buy it from Amazon.
Happy reading, and I'll see you on January 4th.
Monica Willyard
Saturday, December 8, 2007
A Family Needs Your Prayers
During the busy bustle of your holiday celebrations and preparations, will you please take a few minutes to lift up the Spina family in prayer? Mark and Susan Spina said goodbye to their 11-year-old daughter Gabby this morning as she went to be with the Lord. She woke up for school un Wednesday with weakness on her left side. She had been a healthy child with no sign of trouble in the past. They rushed her to the hospital where she had extensive surgery to stop bleeding in her brain. She declined rapidly, and doctors were unable to control the swelling and pressure in her head. She continued to decline until this morning when she was only being kept alive by machines. Mark and Susan had to make the terrible decision no parent should ever have to make, to decide to let their daughter go by withdrawing life support.
Gabby knew the Lord as her savior, and she was active in her church's youth group as well as being a student in the Christian school that my own daughter attends. She was 11 years old and was in the sixth grade. She had many friends, and the students at the school are making web pages, poems, pictures, and cards to celebrate her life and comfort her family. Gabby is in Heaven now and is at peace. It is for her parents and sister that I grieve because I know that losing a child hurts so deeply. The Bible tells us to celebrate when a Christian goes home to be with Christ. It is those of us left behind who have to cope with the tears and pain, and something about death seems so cruel. This was not how God wanted life to be for us. It is sin that brought death into our world at all, and its sting touches all of us so deeply. When we are in Christ's family, death of a loved one is more like saying good night because we'll see them again. It's just a very long night, and our senses tell us that death is final. Even though we know it in the head, the heart has other plans.
As a mom, I can't help thinking that it could be my daughter. The Spinas are health-conscious vegetarians. There was no warning at all. That seems so hard to take, to understand.
Please keep the Spinas in your thoughts and prayers. Hold your children a little closer this Christmas, and remember to say "I love you" just one more time, even if you think they already know. Make time to read just one more bedtime story or play just one extra board game. Take time to let them lick the spoon when you're baking, and sing that song with them just one more time. Later on, you'll be glad you did.
Gabby knew the Lord as her savior, and she was active in her church's youth group as well as being a student in the Christian school that my own daughter attends. She was 11 years old and was in the sixth grade. She had many friends, and the students at the school are making web pages, poems, pictures, and cards to celebrate her life and comfort her family. Gabby is in Heaven now and is at peace. It is for her parents and sister that I grieve because I know that losing a child hurts so deeply. The Bible tells us to celebrate when a Christian goes home to be with Christ. It is those of us left behind who have to cope with the tears and pain, and something about death seems so cruel. This was not how God wanted life to be for us. It is sin that brought death into our world at all, and its sting touches all of us so deeply. When we are in Christ's family, death of a loved one is more like saying good night because we'll see them again. It's just a very long night, and our senses tell us that death is final. Even though we know it in the head, the heart has other plans.
As a mom, I can't help thinking that it could be my daughter. The Spinas are health-conscious vegetarians. There was no warning at all. That seems so hard to take, to understand.
Please keep the Spinas in your thoughts and prayers. Hold your children a little closer this Christmas, and remember to say "I love you" just one more time, even if you think they already know. Make time to read just one more bedtime story or play just one extra board game. Take time to let them lick the spoon when you're baking, and sing that song with them just one more time. Later on, you'll be glad you did.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Tonight's The Night For Fun and Christian Fiction
Hi, everybody. Tonight is the first Christian fiction book club meeting to be held at it's new and improved time slot. Please join us for fellowship and to discuss the book Crime And Clutter, by Cyndy Salzmann. The club meeting begins at 6 P.M. Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central, and 9 P.M. Eastern time. Everyone is welcome, regardless of whether you've read the book and whether you use Bookshare to read or not. If you have friends who like to read Christian fiction, give them a call or send them an IM and invite them. Just point your web browser to the following address:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e
If you've never visited our community room, you will be asked to download a small and completely safe program that will let you hear and talk to other people in the room. Once it's running, just put your name in the first box and leave the password box empty. I'll be in the room at least half an hour early in case anyone wants to test their microphone or learn how to use the text chat part of the room. See you there!
Monica Willyard
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e
If you've never visited our community room, you will be asked to download a small and completely safe program that will let you hear and talk to other people in the room. Once it's running, just put your name in the first box and leave the password box empty. I'll be in the room at least half an hour early in case anyone wants to test their microphone or learn how to use the text chat part of the room. See you there!
Monica Willyard
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Romance Is In The Air
Two friends of mine are launching a book club that sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. Grace and Susan are avid readers, friendly people, and both of them have great taste in books. Here's the info if you'd like to drop in and see what they're up to.
Come Join Us and TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS
Kickoff of Romance Book Club next Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Come join us to talk about your favorite romance books and to help us choose our first book to read together.
Leader: Grace Pires,
Email: silvara@cox.net
Club Assistant: Susan Lumpkin,
Email:
Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Time: 6:00 p.m. Pacific, 7:00 p.m. Mountain, 8:00 p.m. Central 9:00 p.m.
Eastern, and Wednesday GMT 02:00.
Where: Friends of Bookshare Community Room at:
http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e
Everyone is welcome! We look forward to seeing you all!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
The Twelve Stories Before Christmas
A friend of mine is doing something that is a lot of fun and is a great way to get into the mood for Christmas. Drop by and check it out. He'd love to hear from you. The Book Man Of The Universe: The Twelve Stories Before Christmas: "Create a Link"
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Crime And Clutter
In her book Crime And Clutter, Cyndy Salzmann knows how to capture the spirit of friendship, motherhood, and the ups and downs of a woman's life with humor, clarity, and sensitive understanding. I'm having a blast reading this book and trying some of the recipes. Tip to the wise... buy chocolate and good coffee to enjoy while reading this one. :) Better still, invite your sister or best friend over for chocolate and/or coffee and share the book with her. If you haven't picked up Crime And Clutter yet, here's a copy of the description from the back of the book. This one is definitely chick lit, and yet I think the plot is interesting enough for men to read without feeling the need to go do something with power tools afterward. ;)
A storage unit, a 1963 Volkswagen minibus, and tattered letters...reveal shattering secrets from the '60s. It's been a year since Mary Alice lost her father -- the father she never really knew. Now she's stuck cleaning out his rubbish from a storage unit. Just when she'd rather it all go away from her well-ordered life, her long-held secret is discovered by the feisty Marina, one of the six members of the Friday Afternoon Club. When these friends make it their mission to help Mary Alice tackle her stash, they arrive at the storage unit, prepared to clean. But what they discover takes them on a riotous ride through the crime and clutter of the sixties, the angst and betrayal of those caught in The Revolution, and the forgiveness that can only come through acceptance of a different kind of Cause. Includes fun, easy, and tantalizing recipes!Get Crime And Clutter at ChristianBook.com
Exciting Changes In The Christian Fiction Book Club
Hi, everyone. I'm writing to share some exciting news about a change in the Christian fiction book club. Many of you have let me know recently that you aren't able to attend the club in an afternoon time slot. After some consideration and consultation with Pat Price, we've decided to change our meeting time and frequency. We will meet once a month, on the first Friday of each month, at 6 P.M. Pacific, 9 P.M. Eastern time. Our first meeting at the new time will be held on December 7. Since our former schedule prevented several people from joining us, we decided to finish reading the book Crime And Clutter, by Cyndy Salzmann. This is a cozy mystery with lighthearted humor, a powerful storyline, and lots of tasty recipes sprinkled throughout the book. You can get the best price on this book at ChristianBook.com . If you use Bookshare, the link for this book is here.
See you on the seventh. Happy reading.
See you on the seventh. Happy reading.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
A Warm Welcome
Welcome to the Christian Fiction Book Club blog. I'm glad you've stopped by. If you like to read Christian fiction, talk about books you like, or find out about some new authors, you're in the right place. :) Please feel free to comment when you like and subscribe to my blog feed as well.
The first post in a blog seems to be the hardest one. I think I'll take a minute to introduce myself to you and let you know why I made this blog.
My name is Monica Willyard, and I live in Georgia in the United States. I'm a single mom with a teenaged daughter, and I work as a freelance writer and part-time computer technician. I love to read, cook, chat with friends, make homemade lotions and soaps, and write short stories and articles. I was born totally blind, and I use a piece of software called a screenreader to listen to what I type and what comes across my computer screen as I browse the web. I use a scanner to scan pages of print books and then listen to what I've scanned.
I've been a Christian for around 15 years now, and I'm excited to see how good Christian fiction has become a new rule instead of the exception it used to be. Authors like Joel Rosenberg, Angela Hunt, Karen Kingsbury, Bill Myers, Ted Dekker, and Lynn Cote know how to tell a great story, weaving their love for God and His word into their novels like golden threads through an ornate tapestry. These authors teach, entertain, and change hearts through their books, and I created this blog to celebrate their work and share it with people who are just discovering this genre of excellent fiction.
So what's the deal with the book club part of this blog? I'd like to extend an invitation to each of you who are reading this. I host a Christian fiction book club online that meets twice a month. We discuss a book we've read, share our thoughts about the characters, and chat about other books we're reading on our own. We meet on the first and third Friday of each month at 1 P.M. Pacific, 4 P.M. Eastern time. The book club is open to everyone, and there is no cost involved. All you need to participate are your computer running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista and a sound card with speakers and a microphone or headset so you can talk to other people in the room. Mac users can currently listen to the chat but can only participate through text chatting at this point. The company who makes the software is hard at work to provide voice support for Mac users, and I hope to announce that soon. To join us for the chat, visit http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e . The first time you visit us, you will be asked to download a small and safe program that will run the chat room for you. The software is easy to use, and it's easy to install. Once it's running, just put your first name in the first box and leave the password blank. Pressing the control key and holding it down will let you talk, and you are welcome to come a little early if you'd like some help with adjusting your microphone volume. I'll be in the chat room at least a half an hour before the book club begins. See you there! :)
The first post in a blog seems to be the hardest one. I think I'll take a minute to introduce myself to you and let you know why I made this blog.
My name is Monica Willyard, and I live in Georgia in the United States. I'm a single mom with a teenaged daughter, and I work as a freelance writer and part-time computer technician. I love to read, cook, chat with friends, make homemade lotions and soaps, and write short stories and articles. I was born totally blind, and I use a piece of software called a screenreader to listen to what I type and what comes across my computer screen as I browse the web. I use a scanner to scan pages of print books and then listen to what I've scanned.
I've been a Christian for around 15 years now, and I'm excited to see how good Christian fiction has become a new rule instead of the exception it used to be. Authors like Joel Rosenberg, Angela Hunt, Karen Kingsbury, Bill Myers, Ted Dekker, and Lynn Cote know how to tell a great story, weaving their love for God and His word into their novels like golden threads through an ornate tapestry. These authors teach, entertain, and change hearts through their books, and I created this blog to celebrate their work and share it with people who are just discovering this genre of excellent fiction.
So what's the deal with the book club part of this blog? I'd like to extend an invitation to each of you who are reading this. I host a Christian fiction book club online that meets twice a month. We discuss a book we've read, share our thoughts about the characters, and chat about other books we're reading on our own. We meet on the first and third Friday of each month at 1 P.M. Pacific, 4 P.M. Eastern time. The book club is open to everyone, and there is no cost involved. All you need to participate are your computer running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista and a sound card with speakers and a microphone or headset so you can talk to other people in the room. Mac users can currently listen to the chat but can only participate through text chatting at this point. The company who makes the software is hard at work to provide voice support for Mac users, and I hope to announce that soon. To join us for the chat, visit http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e . The first time you visit us, you will be asked to download a small and safe program that will run the chat room for you. The software is easy to use, and it's easy to install. Once it's running, just put your first name in the first box and leave the password blank. Pressing the control key and holding it down will let you talk, and you are welcome to come a little early if you'd like some help with adjusting your microphone volume. I'll be in the chat room at least a half an hour before the book club begins. See you there! :)
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